News of RHE's passing

When people try to debate the historical nature of the gospels, they forget about the letters. It’s much easier to date them than the gospels. Paul’s letter to the Galatians is probably the first NT document, written around A.D. 49-50. His letter to the church in Corinth was written a couple of years later. Thus, within 20 years of Christ’s death Paul can say this in 1 Cor. 15:

“3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried,that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.”

Essentially, Paul has issued a challenge here. If you don’t believe my word about Christ, there are hundreds of witnesses still living in Galilee and Judea who can back me up.

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Wait. You mean we’re just supposed to accept that as gospel??? :upside_down_face:

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Pete Enns posted this about Rachel Held Evan’s anniversary of passing:

“Rachel had a following because she reminded us of the God worth following.”

With prayers for her family.

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Enn’s did a great job memorializing her. Oddly, I watched a PBS show on Buddy Holly and the parallels are interesting so far as the genius and the influence. Rachel Held Evans was certainly a “rock star!”

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Thanks, that was a very nice tribute. It is interesting to see RHE described as an “apologist,” as most apologists I knew of in my youth would probably have fits at that idea, but it seems apt to me and highlights the different approaches people can take to achieve similar goals.

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There is definitely a difference. Rachel kept it real and genuine. Most who would call themselves apologists will unapologetically obfuscate and disseminate in order to control a conversation. Where Rachel always gave the impression of looking for the truth, most apologists want to convince you they already have it.

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Apologists may have earned their bad rap … or as the adage goes … the 99% of them give the rest of us a bad name.

But in defense of ‘apology’ … aren’t all of us apologists for what we think? Some are just a whole lot better at it. And maybe for good reasons. Maybe they have considered a lot of evidence before fully embracing their current perspective, and so their perspective may be more worthwhile sharing around as more widely applicable (and therefore more valuable) than the much lesser: “well - this is my truth, anyway”. Sales people are generally good at not being jerks and meeting their prospective customers right where they’re at. Are all sales people sneaky and underhanded? Certainly not. Maybe their product really would be helpful, and maybe we really are looking for something like that (or should be). We might even be seeking advice and hope to find a good salesperson or provide it so we can make an informed choice.

And sometimes what we need is reassurance that we aren’t alone in some given struggle. The more I hear here about Rachel, the more I’m impressed that she must had that kind of reassurance on tap for a wide audience indeed! She sounds like she was in the 1%.

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Your mention of apologists and ourselves as salesperson reminds me of something A discussion I had recently about sales, and how the best salespeople listens to the customer and works to meet that customer’s needs through his sales product. Our pastor has preached a few sermons recently on"ethical evangelism" stressing much the same thing, caring for the people in our sphere of influence, and sharing Christ in such a way shows how he can meet their needs.

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